Massachusetts officials urge residents to fill out census by end of Thursday

Massachusetts officials are sounding the alarm about the early shutdown of the census, and are urging residents to respond by the end of Thursday.

The 2020 census count is coming to an abrupt end after the Supreme Court OK’d the Trump administration’s decision to stop it early. The count is ending more than two weeks earlier than planned amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin on Wednesday implored all residents who have not already been counted in the census to respond by the end of the day Thursday.

“Stopping this count early will mean that Massachusetts could be shortchanged in federal funding and electoral representation for the next ten years,” Galvin said in a statement. “I strongly encourage anyone who has not already been counted to get counted by tomorrow, whether it is online, over the phone, or by mail.”

Attorney General Maura Healey on social media urged residents to fill out the census right away, and then encourage their friends and family to also respond.

“The Trump Administration has undemocratically shortened the Census deadline to first thing Friday morning. With just over one day left, I urge everyone to immediately fill out their Census, and remind their friends and family to do so, as well,” Healey said in a statement. “This is critical — our representation in Congress and the Electoral College, school funding, and so much more depends on making sure everyone is counted.”

The head of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition condemned the early stop to the census count, and called on Congress to ensure an accurate count.

“Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling cuts short the census timeline, undermines local efforts, and disrupts the critical outreach necessary for a fair and accurate count of everyone in the Commonwealth,” Eva Millona, president and CEO of the MIRA Coalition and chair of the Statewide Complete Count Committee, said in a statement. “An inaccurate count will harm our communities, impacting many lives, including immigrants, people of color, young children, and many more for the next ten years and beyond.”

The census questionnaire takes about 10 minutes to complete. The responses help direct federal funding to local communities for schools, roads and other public services.

Census results help determine the number of seats each state has in Congress.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s door-to-door counting efforts will stop by 11 p.m. Thursday. The online response system at www.my2020census.gov will remain open until 6 a.m. on Friday.

Residents may also respond over the phone until 6 a.m. on Friday. Telephone numbers for census hotlines in 14 languages are posted at www.sec.state.ma.us/census2020/respond-by-phone.html.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3190nyH